This invention relates generally to automatic flushing systems for toilets, and more particular, to an automatic flushing system for toilets, wherein the toilet is of the type that includes a toilet bowl and an operatively coupled toilet tank.
Toilets comprising a toilet tank/bowl combination with autoflushing capabilities are known, and are the subject of at least two U.S. Patents. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,127 describes the use of infrared transmitters that transmit an infrared signal to a sensing area directly in front of a toilet bowl to sense the presence of a user in the sensing area. Once the user has left the sensing area, the automatic flushing system will provide a main flush. The '127 patent describes the use of a single housing unit in which both the infrared sensors and the flush motor are positioned. Another example of a toilet with autoflushing capabilities is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,384. A further known system provides the IR sensor on the wall of the restroom and detects the presence of the user from this remote location (i.e. the wall).
The inventors of the present invention note that these prior art systems lack certain desirable features and capabilities.
For example, it is believed that these prior art patented systems cannot be easily retrofitted into existing toilets. That is, it is a perceived disadvantage of the prior art that existing toilets cannot be easily modified to incorporate such autoflushing capabilities. For example, many of the prior art systems describe the use of a single housing unit that includes both the motion sensor(s) and the flushing mechanism, thus contributing to the disadvantage that easy retrofitting of such prior art autoflushing systems is not achievable. Furthermore, the known system in which the IR sensor is mounted on the wall suffers from the disadvantage that vandalism of the IR sensor, as but one example, would easy disable the system from proper operation. Also, such an arrangement is less than aesthetically pleasing.
Accordingly, further advancements in the art are desirable. For example, it would desirable to provide an autoflushing system that is more easily retrofittable into existing toilets of the type with a conventional tank and bowl. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide an autoflushing system that is more resilient to vandalism and is more aesthetically pleasing. Thirdly, it would be desirable to provide an autoflushing system that is less conspicuous than that found in the prior art. The present invention overcomes the perceived deficiencies in the prior art as well as provides the objectives and advantages set forth above and below.